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CFL Returning to Ottawa
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Topic Started: Monday Mar 24 2008, 06:44 PM (354 Views)
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Cougar
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Monday Mar 24 2008, 06:44 PM
Post #1
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http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/news_story/?ID=232749&hubname=
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Report: CFL returning to Ottawa
The Canadian Press
3/24/2008 6:32:35 PM
The CFL is returning to Ottawa.
A league source said Monday the CFL will award the Canadian capital a conditional expansion franchise during a news conference at Lansdowne Park on Tuesday.
CFL commissioner Mark Cohon will be in attendance to make the formal announcement. Although there is no specific timeline in place for the franchise to begin operation, it could be up and running as early as 2010.
Cohon was unavailable for comment Monday as the CFL office was closed. However, the league issued an advisory Monday afternoon stating Cohon and members of the Ottawa ownership group would be present for a league announcement Tuesday regarding the Ottawa franchise.
The news conference will also be streamed live on the league's website www.cfl.ca
This will mark the CFL's third stint in Ottawa. The Rough Riders enjoyed a long and storied history in the city. Formed in 1876, the franchise captured nine Grey Cups, including three between 1960 and 1970.
However, the franchise ceased operations following the '96 season. The CFL returned in 2002, this time as the Renegades. However, the league suspended that club four years later when its ownership wasn't prepared to take on millions in projected losses.
Last week, the Globe and Mail reported that the CFL and the Ottawa group, headed up by Ottawa 67's owner Jeff Hunt, were close to a formal agreement on an expansion franchise for the Canadian capital.
Hunt's group also includes three high-profile Ottawa businessmen: Roger Greenberg, chairman and CEO of Minto Developments: John Ruddy, the president of Trinity Development Group; and William Shenkman, chairman of Shenkman Corp., another local property development company.
But there are strings attached.
One major hurdle still remaining for Hunt and his partners is a stadium. Last year, the city of Ottawa recommended the lower tier of the south-side stands at Frank Clair Stadium be demolished due to structural concerns. Hunt's group has reportedly been working with civic officials on a redevelopment plan for Lansdowne Park, the complex where Frank Clair Stadium is located.
The Ottawa expansion franchise is contingent on Hunt's group securing an agreement with Ottawa civic officials and for the revamped Frank Clair Stadium to have a capacity of at least 25,000 seats.
Since there isn't a firm date for the Ottawa club to officially begin play, Hunt's group has some time to negotiate with the city. It also gives builders sufficient time to make structural changes at Frank Clair Stadium.
This marks Hunt's second attempt to land a CFL franchise for Ottawa. Last year, Hunt was part of the Golden Gate Capital group that was regarded as the front-runner among three bids to land a CFL expansion franchise for Ottawa. But Golden Gate was forced to withdraw from the bidding after a prominent group member was diagnosed with intestinal cancer.
While this would be the CFL's third stint in Ottawa, league officials are confident Hunt's group can succeed where others failed. Hunt has done a masterful job of turning the 67's into one of the top junior hockey operations in Canada and has developed a reputation of being a shrewd sports executive. And his partners all have the financial clout to ensure enough money to operate a franchise with a league-mandated $4.05-million salary cap.
The Ottawa Rough Riders enjoyed a long and storied history in the city. Formed in 1876, the franchise captured nine Grey Cups, including three between 1960 and 1970. But the Riders' demise began in the 1990s when it stopped being a community-owned franchise and questionable moves by private owners Bernie Glieberman, then Bruce Firestone and finally Horn Chen resulted in the club folding in 1996.
A new ownership group was granted a CFL franchise for 2002 under the name Renegades, but the CFL was forced to mothball the operation prior to the 2006 season after co-owners Glieberman and Bill Smith walked away from the club rather than cover a projected $6-million operating loss.
The Renegades players were then allocated for a CFL dispersal draft. Quarterback Kerry Joseph was selected first overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Last season, Joseph captured the CFL's outstanding player award (the first Rider to do so since '76) and led Saskatchewan to the Grey Cup title, just the club's third ever and first since '89.
Earlier this month, the Roughriders dealt Joseph and a 2010 third-round draft pick to the Toronto Argonauts for offensive tackle Glenn January, defensive lineman Ronald Flemons, a 2008 first-round pick and 2010 second-round selection.
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PSUSyr5
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Monday Mar 24 2008, 07:01 PM
Post #2
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The Board Idiot
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So if all conditions are met and such, that's 9 CFL teams? How would that change scheduling? I know there were 9 teams before, but I think it would be wise if they got a 10th team...I believe Windsor and Thunder Bay have been trying to get a CFL team, so maybe one of them? Though that would be 4 teams in Ontario which might be a bit much...so then maybe Quebec City?
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WeatherManNX01
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Monday Mar 24 2008, 07:21 PM
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The Yanks are coming!
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CFL definitely needs to do a little expansion. I mean, come on, MLS, MLL, and NLL all have larger leagues. Heck, so does MISL.
:P
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Cougar
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Monday Mar 24 2008, 07:42 PM
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- WeatherManNX01
- Mar 24 2008, 08:21 PM
CFL definitely needs to do a little expansion. I mean, come on, MLS, MLL, and NLL all have larger leagues. Heck, so does MISL.
:P
Yep. Definitely and I hope they know that. They did try expansion in the 90's...didn't work so well but then again that was into the US, which wasn't a good idea.
I would love to see Windsor get a team. But, I think the Detroit Lions would be concerned. Thunder Bay, haven't heard too much expansion rumours about that. Quebec City makes sense to me. But, Atlantic Canada doesn't have any major sports team. So perhaps somewhere in New Brunswick or perhaps Halifax?
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PSUSyr5
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Monday Mar 24 2008, 07:58 PM
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The Board Idiot
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I feel like we've had this discussion before...the cities seem so familiar...maybe it was for the NHL?
Anyway, with 9 teams, you can get 16 games in 18 weeks which 2 less than they have now. I don't think that's all bad.
They probably shouldn't have conferences or divisions or whatever they want to call them, but it seems like they really should just have the top 2 from each (or top 4 overall) go to the playoffs instead of the 6 they have now.
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WeatherManNX01
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Friday May 16 2008, 04:38 PM
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The Yanks are coming!
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Next challenge: a stadium.
From the Ottawa Citizen:
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Cross-marketing of the two sports properties has already begun.
"We got the team," says the caption on the Ottawa 67's website, illustrating not junior hockey, but a football fan scene at Lansdowne Park. "What seats would you like to stand on?"
At the moment, the bigger question is whether the Lansdowne Park re-design has a leg on which to stand.
While Jeff Hunt, owner of the Ontario Hockey League 67's, and his football partners (William Shenkman, Roger Greenberg and John Ruddy), did land a conditional CFL franchise for Ottawa, their goal of having a team on the field for 2010 is dependent on having a suitable stadium in place.
It has been well enough documented that Frank Clair Stadium is a decaying mess. The south-side stands are soon to be systematically imploded before they collapse on their own.
"I think it will put the issue on the front burner," Hunt said yesterday from New York. "Seeing the south-side stands gone will make it obvious that significant work needs to be done to have, not just a football stadium, but a stadium, period."
Full article.
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WeatherManNX01
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Tuesday Aug 26 2008, 03:30 PM
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From Football Stadium Digest:
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It all depends on whether you are a glass half-empty or a glass half-full guy. A recent poll of 405 Ottawa citizens revealed a slight preference for turning Lansdowne Park into an "urban oasis" of sorts, complete with shops, markest and a waterway. 48 per cent of those polled think this is a good idea.
That sounds like bad news for Jeff Hunt, owner of the Ottawa 67's hockey team and the man who is trying to bring a CFL team back to town in a year or two. Frank Clair Stadium, the old facility that was the home for the Rough Riders when they were a proud CFL franchise from 1908-1996 (and for the Renegades, who played there from 2002-05), is in the middle of Lansdowne Park and would have to be leveled to make way for such a concept. As it is, the south side of the stadium were taken out a few years ago due to structural issues.
But Hunt looks at the poll this way: 41 per cent of the same folks polled think the area should be renovated for football. So, it depends on how you choose to look at things.
"Assuming that the poll is representative of the entire city, I would say it appears to be very favourable," Hunt said. "At 41 per cent of the population, that is almost 400,000 people who want to see CFL football back in Ottawa. If that were true, that would represent an outstanding amount of support."
Full article.
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